Hockey training aid

ABSTRACT

The hockey training aid is a hockey stick/blade which can be either a one piece stick as in a one piece composite stick or an attachable/replaceable blade, which can be attached to a stick shaft. The blade has a shank for inserting the stick handle and containing a channel along the lower edge of the blade. A string is fastened tat one end to a puck and or ball and at the other end to a ball bearing shaped bead that is freely moveable within the channel. The string attached to the bead extends outward from the channel through a slit that also extends along the length of the channel. During use, as the puck/ball moves back-and-forth during stick-handling drills, the bead freely moves back-and-forth within the channel and the tether freely moves along the slit. An additional optional hole is provided at the top of the blade for use as an alternative stationary attachment of an elastic tether to the blade.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to hockey training aids and, more specifically, to a hockey training aid made of a hockey stick blade and a ball simulating a puck tethered to the blade so that a novice hockey player can practice stick handling, puck handling, and self-passing drills.

2. Description of the Related Art

As with any sport, a player improves by practicing. One of the most difficult aspects of practicing hockey is that the hockey stick blade misses the hockey puck, or the player somehow loses control over the puck.

Hockey players can practice on dry land instead of ice, and must do so because ice time is often scarce. However, the puck does not have the same action or feel as on the ice. Furthermore, it takes a great deal of physical effort to chase the puck every time it escapes the control of the player. A player can easily become discouraged and give up practicing.

Others have tried to make hockey training aids. Examples are described below. None of these references are admitted to being prior art by their mention in this Background section.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,555 issued to Tremblay, on Oct. 29, 1974, teaches a hockey blade which can be used to practice with balls, e.g., for field hockey practice. The ball is trapped within a U-shaped enclosure created by the shape of the blade. The blade can be made of wood or plastic.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,917, issued to Beale on Feb. 4, 1975, teaches a hockey blade with a tethered puck in which the blade includes several apertures to which the puck can be selectively attached with an elastic cord. The particular hole to which the elastic string is attached to the blade determines the area of the blade being drilled, i.e., toe area versus heel area.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,797, issued to Sarrasin on May 17, 1977, teaches a hockey blade in which a puck is tethered to a fishing-rod-like spool and reel arrangement on the shaft of the stick that acts as a shock absorber cushioning the forces exerted on the A elastic tether when the puck is struck.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,419, issued to Pellegrino on Sep. 15, 1978, teaches a hockey blade with a puck tethered to a C-shaped clamp on top of the blade. The tether in this patent has at least two sections, one of which is intended to break readily when a known predetermined breaking point is reached.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,055, issued to McCarthy et al. on Jun. 9, 1992, teaches a hockey stick with an easily attachable and detachable tethered puck. A spring clip attaches the tether to the top of the blade.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,945, issued to Todd et al. on Oct. 6, 1998, teaches a hockey stick with a tethered puck in which the tether is attached to the stick using a hook-and-loop fastener, e.g., VELCRO hook-and-loop fasteners.

Canadian Patent No. 2,160,746 teaches a puck elastically tethered to a linear guide positioned between a shooting station and a target (goal). When struck, the puck is limited in its travel between the two ends of the guide.

Canadian Patent No. 2,193,517 teaches a puck attached to the sides of a goal using two tethers, one to each side. This arrangement is useful for practice in making or deflecting shots at the goal by offensive players and by goaltenders.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,716,120, issued to Normand on Apr. 6, 2004, teaches a hockey stick blade tethered to a puck. Although the puck has the action and feel of the real hockey puck, it is not suitable for dry land practice, since it tends to catch its own edge and roll in an unpredictable direction after it is hit with a blade.

None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a hockey training aid solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY

The present invention fills a need for a hockey training aid which can be used in off-ice settings, e.g. floor or street, to practice stick-handling and puck control skills in hockey. A special ball that possesses characteristics that simulate the feel and action of a hockey puck is tethered to the lower portion of the blade so that the ball can be repeatedly struck by the blade to conduct such stick-handling and puck control drills as short and wide dribbles, receiving passes, and making shots. The ball is tethered to the blade with a bead that is moveable along a channel in the lower portion of the blade. Also, the blade includes an optional additional hole to attach an elastic string to a ball for using in self-passing drills. Furthermore, the blade can also include a riveted side piece that encloses the channel containing the moveable bead/bearing. The hockey stick blade can be provided by itself or provided as an integrated unit with the stick.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a hockey training aid in which a ball is tethered to a hockey stick blade and permits the user to practice using the blade in either the forehand or backhand positions.

It is another object of the invention to provide a hockey training aid as described above in which the blade contains a channel and corresponding slit along the length of the lower edge of the blade, the string being connected to the blade by having a bead at one end of the string that is freely moveable along the channel while the string is freely moveable along the slit.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangement thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes. These and other benefits, features, and advantages will be made clearer in the accompanying description, claims, and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the blade of a hockey training aid according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the blade of the hockey training aid as viewed in the direction of lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the handle-insertion portion of the top of the hockey training blade as viewed in the direction of lines 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the ball showing connection details and the string (tether).

FIGS. 5A and 5B are sectional views of the channel along the lower edge of the blade along the lines 5A-5A and 5B-5B, respectively, of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show exploded perspective views of an alternative embodiment of the blade in which a portion of the side of the blade is attached to the main portion of the blade to hold the movable bead inside the channel.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to a hockey training aid having a blade that is tethered to a ball.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the hockey training aid showing the lower edge 13 and a side of the blade 10 used for hitting the ball 50. Also, the top portion 12 having an opening is shown into which a conventional stick handle is inserted and fastened in place using appropriate fastening elements 6, e.g., screws. The blade toe 5, blade heel 60 and a toe notch 4 are also shown. The blade 10 can be a separate component that can be attached to a stick to make a hockey stick. An alternative version is a blade 10 that is an integral part of a stick.

The specially designed toe notch 4 is vertically oriented near the tip of the blade. It permits the user to practice “curl and drag” maneuvers near the toe 5 of the blade 10.

As shown more particularly in FIG. 1, a central portion of the bottom edge 13 of the blade 10 is preferably raised above a supporting surface, such as a floor or the ground, by virtue of a shoulder between the heel 60 and notch 56 at the rear of the blade, and by the protruding leading edge of the notch 4 at the toe 5 of the blade 10. The central portion of the bottom edge 13 of the blade 10 is raised sufficiently so that the ball 50 may be passed beneath the blade 10 when switching from forehand to backhand positions without trapping the tether between the lower edge of the blade 10 and the playing surface. The central portion is preferably raised about 1.3 cm (0.5 in) high above the playing surface.

A close-up view of the top portion 12 opening of the blade 10 is shown in FIG. 3. Holes 22 and 23 are provided for fastening elements, e.g., screws, to hold the handle in place in the top of the blade 10.

A bottom view of the blade 10 of FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2. A channel 7 defined along the lower edge of the blade 10 is visible in this view, showing the two sides or wells of the channel 31 and 32 with their inwardly extending flanges defining a longitudinally extending slit 73 shown in detail in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B. Inside the channel 7, a bead 71 is shown attached to a string. The bead 71 is freely movable along this channel from the heel end of the blade near the notch 56 to the toe 5.

A sectional view of the channel 7 is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B along the respective cross-section lines shown in FIG. 1. The bead 71 is free to move within the channel 7 defined by the channel walls 31 and 32, but is prevented from escaping from the channel by the narrow slit 73. In order to place the bead 71 inside the channel when the puck is being initially attached to the blade, a notch 56, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is used to snap-fit the bead 71 into the channel 7.

Although the notch 56 is shown located towards the back of the lower edge 13 of the blade, other locations for the notch 56 are also possible. For example, the notch 56 can be located anywhere along one of the two sidewalls 31 and 32 of the lower edge of the blade from the toe 5 to the heel 60, or, alternatively, anywhere along the bottom of the slit 73, as long as the bead 71 can be conveniently put into the channel 7 and held within the channel 7 during use of the blade and ball.

The ball 50 is shown in FIG. 4, with a tether 52 attached at one end to the ball 50 and at the opposite end to the bead 71. The tether 52 simply needs to be adequately secured to the ball 50 in any suitable manner. The ball 50 is preferably a composite having a high density, low rebound thermoplastic core and a polyethylene shell. The shell is preferably made of SURLYN polyethylene by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.

A standard, regulation hockey puck is 7.6 cm (3 in.) in diameter, 2.54 cm (1 in.) in height and weighs 154-168 g (5.5-6 oz). The ball 50 preferably weighs slightly less than the regulation puck, yet provides the same action and feel of a puck. The diameter of the ball is preferably about 5.6 cm (2.2 in). The polyethylene shell rolls or slides over any surface, and approximates the same slide of a puck on ice.

The ball 50 preferably has a recess 92 into which an attachment means 94 is secured. The preferred embodiment uses a screw eye for the attachment means 94, which is secured to the ball to that the top of the attachment means does not protrude outside the surface envelope of the ball 50 so that it does not effect the rolling or sliding of the ball 50. The recess 92 is preferably a counter-sunk hole approximately 1.3 cm (0.5 in) in diameter and between 1.3 cm (0.5 in) and 1.9 cm (0.75 in) in depth. A screw eye should be made of steel or a high-grade durable plastic. An example of a suitable ball is the SMARTHOCKEY training ball, which does not come with the recess 92 or any attachment means.

The tether 52 has a bead 71 on one end that attaches to the blade 10. The opposite end of the tether 52 can be attached directly to the ball, or can be secured to a swivel 96 that is secured to the attachment means 94. Using a snap swivel 96 allows for easy detachment and changing to the different tethers 52 required to perform various drills, e.g. stick handling, shooting, and passing. The swivel 96 is preferably similar to ones used in fishing. The swiveling feature helps to prevent the tether 52 from becoming tangled.

During use of the hockey training aid apparatus 10, the ball 50 remains tethered to the blade 10 so that when the blade 10 strikes the ball 50 during stick handling drills, it initially moves away from the blade 10 until the tether 52 reaches its limit. The tether 52 is preferably an inelastic cord, such as a string. Alternatively, the tether 52 may be elastic.

Referring back to FIG. 1, blade 10 is provided with hole 62 to permit an alternative attachment point for a tether 52, i.e., when it is not necessary for the tether 52 to move back-and-forth in the slit 73 of the channel 7 between the toe 5 and heel 60 of the blade 10 during the practice drills, such as for use in self passing drills. This hole 62 is placed at the top of the blade 10, preferably near the center of the blade 10. In this position, the blade 10 can be used for practicing self-passing drills. When the blade 10 is used in this manner, the tether 52 attached to the top hole 62 is preferably made from elastic, so that the ball 50 rebounds to the blade 10. Alternatively, the tether 52 may be an inelastic cord, such as a string.

The blade 10 is preferably a one-piece molded plastic having sufficient strength and toughness to withstand frequent and repeated impacts with a puck. Alternatively, the blade 10 may be made from wood, metal, fiberglass, carbon, or a composite material. The stick handle can be wood or plastic or any other suitable material, provided that it can be inserted into the aperture 12 and securely fastened. The stick can also be made as a single unit, as mentioned above.

In FIG. 6A a modified hockey training aid 100 is shown which has a separate cover 42 that is attached to the blade 80 to enclose the channel 76. Preferably, the cover 42 is permanently attached using rivets that are placed in holes 46. A notch 40 is provided at the toe of the blade. A tether could be attached to the hole 48.

An opening 78, shown in detail in FIG. 6B, is provided to allow the user to insert the bead with the attached tether (not shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B for clarity), into the channel 76. A removable and/or rotatable retaining disc 44 is placed in the opening 78 to ensure that the bead does not inadvertently escape from the channel 76 during use.

FIG. 6A also shows an additional manner of attaching the blade 80 to a stick. In this case, a tenon 82 is used to insert into a hollow stick, preferably into an aluminum replacement shaft or a carbon-fiber-reinforced composite.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein, the above description is merely illustrative. Further modification of the invention herein disclosed will occur to those skilled in the respective arts and all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. A hockey training aid apparatus comprising: a hockey stick blade attachable to a hockey stick having a toe, a heel, and a central portion extending between the toe and the heel, and a lower blade edge extending from the toe to the heel, the lower blade edge having a channel defined therein and a pair of walls extending inwardly defining a longitudinally extending slit below said channel; a ball having an attachment means for a tether; a bead sized to be slidably disposed in the channel defined in the lower blade edge and having a through hole sized to accept a tether end; and a tether having an end attached to the bead, whereby the ball can be attached to the blade by the tether and slide freely along the channel which simulates a hockey puck and thereby aids a hockey player in training.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, the blade further comprising a bead insertion notch opening into the channel in order to provide an access to the channel in order to insert the bead into the channel.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the central portion of lower edge of the blade is raised, the heel and the toe protrudes below the central portion of the lower edge of the blade, whereby the blade is adapted for contacting a supporting surface only at the heel and the toe of the blade.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the blade has a second notch defined at the toe of the blade.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said blade has an upper portion having a hole defined therein, the bead being removable from the channel and the tether being attachable to the hole defined in the upper portion of the blade.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tether is elastic.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tether is an inelastic cord.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ball has a thermoplastic core and a polyethylene shell.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, the attachment means comprising an eyelet screw secured in a recess in the ball such that the screw does not protrude outside the surface envelope of the ball.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising a swivel mechanism attachable on one end to the tether and on another end to the eyelet screw.
 11. A hockey training aid apparatus comprising: a hockey stick with an integral blade having a toe, a heel, and a central portion extending between the toe and the heel, and a lower blade edge extending from the toe to the heel, the lower blade edge having a channel defined therein and a pair of walls extending inwardly defining a longitudinally extending slit below said channel; a ball having an attachment means for a tether; a bead sized to be slidably disposed in the channel defined in the lower blade edge and having a through hole sized to accept a tether end; and a tether having an end attached to the bead, whereby the ball can be attached to the blade by the tether and slide freely along the channel which simulates a hockey puck and thereby aids a hockey player in training.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, the blade further comprising a bead insertion notch opening into the channel in order to provide an access to the channel in order to insert the bead into the channel.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the central portion of lower edge of the blade is raised, the heel and the toe protrudes below the central portion of the lower edge of the blade, whereby the blade is adapted for contacting a supporting surface only at the heel and the toe of the blade.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the blade has a second notch defined at the toe of the blade.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said blade has an upper portion having a hole defined therein, the bead being removable from the channel and the tether being attachable to the hole defined in the upper portion of the blade.
 16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the tether is elastic.
 17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the tether is an inelastic cord.
 18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the ball has a thermoplastic core and a polyethylene shell.
 19. The apparatus of claim 11, the attachment means comprising an eyelet screw secured in a recess in the ball such that the screw does not protrude outside the surface envelope of the ball.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising a swivel mechanism attachable on one end to the tether and on another end to the eyelet screw. 